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Partners Kosovo

Qendra e Partnerëve Për Administrimin e Konflikteve në Kosovë

Partners-Kosova
Center for Conflict
Management was founded in 2001 to foster a culture of peaceful conflict
resolution in a province that suffered from years of underdevelopment and
conflict. Since then, the Center has worked with Kosovar citizens of all
ethnicities to facilitate the resolution of disputes and build consensus on
neighborhood, business, majority-minority, and citizen-government issues.
The Center provides services ranging from mediation to training courses in
anti-discrimination and ethnic integration. Today, the Center has become
a respected institution in the community and has helped expand the acceptance
of alternative and peaceful conflict resolution. Partners-Kosova’s main
areas of work are:

MediationAs the most active mediation center in Kosovo, Partners-Kosova’s services
include mediating family, property, business, blood feud and other cases;
training in basic and advanced mediation skills; and expert consultation in
setting up mediation programs for schools, municipalities and other groups. The
Center has been instrumental in drafting Kosovo’s pending Mediation Law, which
will integrate mediation into the court system and establish a professional
group of mediators who are trained in accordance with international standards
and ethics. The Center has developed a highly effective Kosovar mediation
methodology that blends modern mediation concepts such as voluntary
participation and mediator neutrality with Kosovo’s centuries-old traditions of
mediation by a trusted third party. Over 85% of cases mediated by
Partners-Kosova have resulted in settlement or significant de-escalation of the
dispute.

Local Government ReformPartners-Kosova’s Local Government Initiative empowers municipal leaders to
manage social change and conflict in their municipalities. The Center has
trained hundreds of municipal leaders in conflict management and citizen
participation. Other training topics have included transparency,
cooperative planning, facilitation and conflict management. As municipal
officials in Kosovo take on greater responsibilities to deliver basic public
services, many of them have successfully applied the citizen outreach and
transparency skills learned at Partners’ training sessions. One of the
most significant results of this program is the creation of a Code of Ethics
for Municipal Inspectors, which has increased transparency and accountability
among civil servants. From the success of the original program, Code of
Ethics workshops have sprung up across the province in Peja, Prizren, and
Pristina.

Ethnic Integration & Conflict Resolution
With the Ethnic Integration and Conflict Resolution program, Partners-Kosova
supports the re-establishment of Kosovo as a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic
society. The Center implements programs that build lasting relationships,
curb xenophobia, integrate returnees, and revitalize the social, economic and
political life of communities across Kosovo. Partners-Kosova trains
citizens to engage in Cooperative Planning processes, where majority and
minority citizens collaboratively identify integration challenges, and form
partnerships with government and civil society to implement creative,
sustainable solutions.

Please read about Partners Kosova and Fractal’s work on Kosovo Community Reconciliation and Development Program KCRDP, including the achieved results through implementation of mini grants in local communities, and the concrete outcomes & results of their work.

On January 18th, the Institute for Inclusive Security held its annual Policy Forum in Washington, DC, attended by Shukrije Gashi, Director of Partners Kosovo, and Nadwa Al-Dawsari, Director of Partners Yemen.